AFCON is the biggest football competition in Africa. Over the years we have witnessed many goal scorers in the competition. However, for some reason, there is no decent account of AFCON top scorers of all time. Meanwhile, top scorers in other competitions are lauded.
For example, the La Liga top scorers, Real Madrid Top Scorers, and highest goalscoring midfielders of all time are all prominent records in football. But the AFCON top scorers of all time topic is not as prominent. Anyway, that’s the essence of this article.
The top scorers of AFCON and the Qualifiers since the competition started will be analyzed in this post.
To start with, what is AFCON? Literally, it means African Cup of Nations. It is a competition to ascertain the best footballing nation in Africa. Illustratively, AFCON is like the European Championship for nations in the African continent.
Now, let’s talk about the highest goal scorers in AFCON history.
AFCON Highest Goal Scorers Of All Time
| SN | Player Name | AFCON Goals | Nationality | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Eto’o | 18 | Cameroon | ST |
| 2 | Laurent Pokou | 14 | Ivory Coast | ST |
| 3 | Rashidi Yekini | 13 | Nigeria | ST |
| 4 | Hassan El-Shazly | 12 | Egypt | AM |
| 5 | Patrick Mboma | 11 | Cameroon | SS |
| 5 | Hossam Hassan | 11 | Egypt | ST |
| 5 | Didier Drogba | 11 | Ivory Coast | ST |
| 8 | Ndaye Mulamba | 10 | Democratic Republic of Congo | MID |
| 8 | Joel Tiéhi | 10 | Ivory Coast | ST |
| 8 | Mengistu Worku | 10 | Ethiopian | FW |
| 8 | Dos Santos | 10 | Tunisia | SS |
| 8 | Kalusha Bwalya | 10 | Zambian | FW |
| 13 | Manucho | 9 | Angola | ST |
| 13 | Abdoulaye Traoré | 9 | Ivory Coast | FW |
| 13 | André Ayew | 9 | Ghana | ST |
| 16 | Ahmed Hassan | 8 | Egypt | ST |
| 16 | Asamoah Gyan | 8 | Ghana | ST |
| 16 | Pascal Feindouno | 8 | Guinea | WF |
| 16 | Seydou Keita | 8 | Mali | MID |
| 20 | Flávio | 7 | Angola | ST |
| 20 | Roger Milla | 7 | Cameroon | ST |
| 20 | Taher Abouzaid | 7 | Egypt | AM |
| 20 | Ali Abo Gresha | 7 | Egypt | MID |
| 20 | Osei Kofi | 7 | Ghana | FW |
| 20 | Abedi Pele | 7 | Ghana | AM |
| 20 | Frédéric Kanouté | 7 | Mali | ST |
| 20 | Jay-Jay Okocha | 7 | Nigeria | MID |
| 20 | Benni McCarthy | 7 | South Africa | ST |
| 20 | Christopher Katongo | 7 | Zambia | ST |
In a nutshell, from the chart above, Samuel Eto’o is the highest goal scorer in AFCON history with 18 goals to his name. No wonder he is the most decorated African Footballer.
Late Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast is the second-highest goalscorer in the competition’s history with 14 goals.
Notably, Ndaye Mulamba of DR Congo is the highest goalscoring midfielder on the list. He has 10 goals to his name in the competition’s history. This is an incredible achievement given his position.
Mali’s Seydou Keita should also be lauded for his 8 goals in AFCON history.
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Highest Goalscorers in AFCON Qualifiers History
| SN | Player | AFCON Qualifiers Goals | Position | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Salah | 16 | Right Winger | Egypt |
| 2 | Knowledge Musona | 15 | Attacking Midfield | Zimbabwe |
| 3 | Getaneh Kebede | 14 | Centre-Forward | Ethiopia |
| 4 | Stéphane Sessègnon | 14 | Attacking Midfield | Tunisia |
| 5 | Issam Jemâa | 13 | Centre-Forward | Tunisia |
| 6 | El Arbi Hillel Soudani | 12 | Right Winger | Algeria |
| 7 | Abdul Razak Fiston | 11 | Centre-Forward | Burundi |
| 8 | Islam Slimani | 10 | Centre-Forward | Algeria |
| 9 | Vincent Aboubakar | 10 | Centre-Forward | Cameroon |
| 10 | Khama Billiat | 10 | Second Striker | Zimbabwe |
| 11 | Didier Drogba | 10 | Centre-Forward | Ivory Coast |
| 12 | Riyad Mahrez | 9 | Right Winger | Algeria |
| 13 | Jonathan Pitroipa | 9 | Right Winger | Burkina-Faso |
| 14 | Gervinho | 8 | Left Winger | Ivory Coast |
| 15 | Alain Traoré | 8 | Attacking Midfield | Burkina-Faso |
| 16 | Odion Ighalo | 8 | Centre-Forward | Nigeria |
| 17 | Christopher Katongo | 8 | Centre-Forward | Zambia |
| 18 | Ryan Mendes | 8 | Left Winger | Cape Verde |
| 19 | Percy Tau | 8 | Centre-Forward | South Africa |
| 20 | Mamadou Niang | 8 | Centre-Forward | Senegal |
| 21 | Asamoah Gyan | 8 | Centre-Forward | Ghana |
| 22 | Férébory Doré | 8 | Centre-Forward | Republic of Congo |
| 23 | Geoffrey Massa | 8 | Centre-Forward | Uganda |
| 24 | William Jebor | 8 | Centre-Forward | Liberia |
| 25 | Sadio Mané | 7 | Left Winger | Senegal |
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Incredibly, Egyptian Mohammed Salah is the highest goal scorer in the history of AFCON Qualifiers with 16 goals. However, he’s not even in the top 20 highest goalscorers in the AFCON competition itself.
Nonetheless, Salah has a chance to stretch the lead further as he is still one of the few active players in the above chart. His record in the AFCON qualifiers will be so hard to break by the next generation of African footballers.
Of course, Salah would prefer to have Samuel Eto’s record of being the highest goalscorer in the AFCON competition itself instead of the qualifiers. To be candid, the record looks impossible for Salah to catch.
However, he can find joy knowing that he is the highest goal scorer in AFCON Qualifiers history for now and he has a chance to add to the tally before hanging his boots.
Further Reading:
- 5 Mistakes That Aspiring African Footballers Make
- Age Fraud In Football: Why Is It So Common In Africa?
- 5 Reasons Why African Teams Fail At The World Cup
- Great African Footballers that Never Won AFCON
- The 10 Largest Stadiums in Africa: Find out Now
- Who are the Best African Wingers of All Time?
